


Survival

by ms_cataclysm



Series: Bonsanklar AU [1]
Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bechdel Test Pass, Bujoldfest 2013, Gen, references to offstage violence and death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-05
Updated: 2014-05-15
Packaged: 2017-12-25 18:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/956189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ms_cataclysm/pseuds/ms_cataclysm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A rather off target fill to Avanti 90's prompt - Kareen survives Vordarian's pretendership to raise Gregor - which explains what really happened on the night of the raid to rescue Miles's replicator.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [avanti_90](https://archiveofourown.org/users/avanti_90/pseuds/avanti_90) in the [Bujold_Ficathon_2013](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Bujold_Ficathon_2013) collection. 



“Drou ?”

“Shh, everything's alright … don't try to talk or move just yet . ”

Drou's words were calm but her voice trembled and her breathing was uneven. 

The undercurrent of fear in Drou's voice cut through the muzzy swirliness and pain in Kareen's head . Not safe then. Not that she was ever safe now. 

Her vision seemed to be clearing. There was a large blue bowl on the floor beside her. Kareen fleetingly identified it as a soup tureen from the Dorcan Revival Bonsanklarware dinner service used for intimate state dinners before more urgent sensations overwhelmed her . She felt Drou's arm round her shoulders supporting her through the convulsions . 

Just like old times she thought . 

“You'll be a bit dizzy for a while.” Drou said softly as she helped Kareen to her feet . “When you attacked Vordarian, his armsman got you with his stunner . You went down still holding Vordarian's nerve disruptor and he was trying to get it back off you and keep his balance and shouting at his armsman not to fire all together. Then we jumped the other guards and I just saw bits.”

Drou touched the burned edge of her hair unconsciously and shivered. 

Still clumsy from stun, Kareen put an unsteady arm round the younger woman. They stood together, half awkward, half comforted .

“Just like old times” whispered Drou.


	2. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> being the further adventures of Kareen and Drou as they attempt to escape from the palace

Kareen touched Drou's charred hair hesitantly. “Did I do that?” she asked.

“You spoiled Vordarian's aim. ” said Drou evasively. 

Kareen winced. It was bad enough that she'd forgotten all of Negri and Drou's careful defence drills and attacked Vidal head on but she'd nearly killed her own bodyguard with friendly fire. She squelched down the thought ruthlessly . Time enough for self recriminations if they got out alive. 

“Drou, what do we do now? Hide or run?” 

“I don't know. I never thought I'd get this far. I don't know why the palace guards aren't here already .”

“ Vidal doesn't allow any of the palace staff into the private apartments anymore. There were … incidents. There's just his armsmen and a few of his servants with stunners. ” 

“There's six of them here .” Drou indicated the boots sticking out behind the chaise longue. “There can't be many more on duty at once. ”

Kareen peered at the bodies. “Two are armsmen and the rest are servants. I don't know how many are on the night shift though. Where's Vidal ? Please don't tell me he got away.”

“Cordelia and Sergeant Bothari took him with them as a hostage. They've gone for the replicator. ”

“Vidal's good for something then.” said Kareen acidly . “Are they coming back?”

“They should have been back before now. You've been out for twenty minutes. We should probably try to make our own way out. ” 

“That might be a problem. This” she touched a thin metallic band round her neck “links into the main security system . Vidal has the only code key . ”

Drou eyed the silvery necklace uneasily. “What does it do?”

“If I leave the private apartments or try to take it off , it sets off alarms . If the code key isn't input within ten minutes, the band shock-sticks you every ten minutes until you put in the code or pass out.” 

“We'll have to follow the others then” said Drou unhappily. “Will Vordarian's people shoot Princess Kareen and her maid ?”

“Vidal pretends that I'm not a prisoner, I pretend to believe him and his staff play along up to a point . No one's going to be keen to explain shooting me to Vidal but if they get too suspicious or too rattled, they'll fire .”

“If they hesitate, it might be enough.”

“It'll have to be enough.” 

They shared out the guards stunners and Kareen dropped hers into the pockets of her dressing gown. The weight of the guns pulled the robe open and she rebelted it more tightly . She wished fleetingly for clothes , feeling uncomfortably naked and vulnerable in just the loose robe. 

Drou had finished re-stunning the fallen guards and tucked the stunner into the pockets of her wide skirts. 

They opened the salon doors gingerly . The corridor was empty and silent. Kareen wanted to run but forced herself to walk unhurriedly in case they were being watched on the monitors. Drou swung into her usual place, two paces behind and one to the left and matched her speed. 

It took all of Kareen's willpower not to break into a run. Was anyone even watching the monitors anyway ? 

She could smell Drou's burnt hair . Would the smell be enough to alert the guards ? 

No one was on duty at the stairs. Maybe the guard was only there in daytime ?

Down the stairs. Two more turns to go . 

The smell from Drou's burnt hair was getting stronger. Was it some fear effect, sharpening the senses?

Drou motioned her to slow as they came to the first corner and went forward . 

Kareen could feel her heart thumping as if she not Drou had taken the brunt of the fight. 

Clear.

Kareen's palms were damp and she felt suddenly, uncomfortably, hot and dizzy. She could smell her own fear on her skin . She wiped her hands on her robe and slipped a hand into one pocket. 

If she had to, she could fire the stunner through the pocket if she was close enough to the guard. 

Drou masked her own stunner with a casual fold of her skirt , as if she were on curtsey alert. 

Last corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and sorry about the cliffhanger but I'm still trying to make up my mind between two alternate endings


	3. Bothari

Chapter 3A

The sentry point outside Ezar's apartments was empty. 

The carved oak doors hung untidily open . Drou stopped her with a hand signal and went ahead to check the hall, then beckoned her on. 

The sentry's body was sprawled on the floor . Kareen recognised him as Sim, the teenage son of a Vordarian armsman. She propped him up against the wall so that he didn't choke on post stun vomit while Drou checked the bathroom and drawing room. There was a stifled “oof” and a loud metallic clang from Drou as she tripped over an electrical cable from the jumble of Ezar's medical equipment.

They froze , horrified , for an instant . The bedroom doors were flung open and a tall ImpSec guard emerged at speed, stunners in both hands ready to fire, then relaxed.

“ Princess. Miss Drou” said Bothari. “Quickly and quietly now .”

Bothari ushered them into the bedroom and shut the doors behind them, taking up guard stance .

Vordarian lay on the bed – unconscious? Dead? - while a white faced Cordelia searched the room frantically for the replicator.

Kareen helped her to the correct cupboard and joined Drou who was sorting through the tangle of clothing to find something to tie Vordarian's hands with. Now she was closer, she could hear he was breathing .

Quickly, she scrambled into some day clothes , ignoring Bothari's hurriedly turned back . 

Drou was searching Vordarian's body . “ Nothing here that looks like a code key. What am I looking for exactly?” 

Cordelia looked up from her hurried examination of the replicator and Kareen hurriedly explained about her booby trapped necklace. 

Drou started searching through Voredarian's uniform jackets and wallet. Nothing. She moved on to the closets. 

“It might be a code phrase not a physical key.” said Cordelia. “We'd better wake Vordarian.” 

The water from a flower vase took care of that . Vordarian awoke spluttering and struggling but stilled abruptly when he saw Bothari with the nerve disruptor . 

“You know what I've done .” said Bothari evenly. “You know what I'm capable of. I want the Princess's code key and I want it now.”

Vordarian sneered. “You think I believe you? Countess Vorkosigan is a civilised woman, a galactic. She will never let you do anything like that.”

“The Countess is leaving.” Bothari's voice was flat . He nodded at Drou who began helping Cordelia to strap the replicator on to her back. 

“The day shift will be here in under an hour . Even if you were Vorrutyer himself, you couldn't break me in time.”

Bothari smiled and opened his spare hand. A single fast penta syringe gleamed in his palm.

Kareen stepped forward . “ Wait! ” she said. 

Vordarian looked up hopefully.

“Not here. In the bunker . On vidlink.”


	4. Endgames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Vordarian continues to be an idiot and Kareen has some choices to make.

It had all gone so well at first. They had made it down to the old Cetagandan bunker under Ezar's bedroom in seven minutes flat . Kareen's retinal scan and palm print unlocked the blast doors and then they were in.

The bunker was a bewildering mix of luxury and dilapidation. A few rooms had been redecorated by Emperor Yuri -towards the end of the civil war, he'd practically lived down there - and kept more or less functional by Ezar . Surprisingly, Yuri's suite included a fully functional cell – surely even Yuri hadn't been that paranoid? They had stashed Vordarian there with relief and made a hurried exploration.

Most of the rooms looked as if they hadn't been touched since the Cetagandan surrender. Cordelia even found a box of half used ghem face paint and a stash of colourful … magazines... in one of the dormitories. 

The comm suite had the original Cetagandan equipment but someone had painstakingly relabelled the controls years in Barrayaran Russian . The studio end had been redecorated in high vor style and seemed vaguely familiar. Cordelia eventually recognised it as an exact duplicate of the blue drawing room used for state broadcasts. Presumably emperors couldn't be seen to do anything as unvorish as cowering in a bunker when addressing their subjects. 

Within an hour, they had recorded and edited vids of Vordarian's confession and a general call for ceasefire, amnesty and surrender. The rebels would try to block the transmissions but the comm suite had the imperial override codes. They had left the commconsole on auto - repeat and gathered in the kitchen for a celebratory breakfast .

And then it all started to slide. 

Someone (or several someones) had raided the food supplies in the kitchen . The cupboards seemed fully stocked but the brightly coloured boxes of breakfast groats at the front were empty and there was nothing behind them. Drou found a few military issue MREs on a high shelf and some dusty bottles of Dendarii mead in the far corner of the wine cellar. 

The thieves had also left two entire crates of Cetagandan MREs. This cheered everyone up until Cordelia translated the descriptions. “I'm not completely sure but I think that one's pickled seaweed, sea urchin balls and rice and the other one's rice pudding with plums.” 

The three Barrayarans groaned and Cordelia muttered something indistinct about blue cheese and getting dressed. Drou wondered why anyone would dye cheese blue . She decided not to ask what a sea urchin was . Cordelia would tell her . Cordelia was like that. And they would still have to eat whatever revolting thing a sea baby turned out to be when the Barrayaran rations ran out. Anyway, galactics were funny about food. It was probably just flavoured vat protein anyway. Probably tasted like chicken . Well, fishy chicken . 

They had breakfasted on the rice pudding and plums washed down with mugs of maple mead. Drou tried stirring her maple mead into the rice pudding. 

That idiot Vordarian couldn't remember the code key to unlock Kareen's necklet . Kareen had questioned him over and over . The fast penta had worn off. Bothari had offered to take over the questioning. Kareen thought that she had never known what true temptation was until now. But what was the point of surviving Serg and Ges if she let herself become them ?

Instead, they had tried guesswork – Vordarian's commconsole numbers, names of his dogs and horses, his service ID number, the name of his first ship, the names of all his other ships . Nothing worked. 

Kareen made a list of Vordarian's ex girlfriends . Nothing . Then they tried the names of his better -looking academy classmates. Nothing. 

Cordelia had then had a sotto voce conversation with Kareen after which Kareen turned bright pink from the necklet up and suggested the others might like to put Vordarian back in his cell and go and monitor the commconsole for a bit. 

If the comms could be trusted, Vorbarr Sultana was in a state of complete confusion. Most of the city didn't have direct comm access so news of the broadcast was spreading piecemeal across the city. Some had denounced the broadcast as some covert ops stratagem of Vorkosigan, others had taken the opportunity to desert. 

Some Voridiot from Southern continent had declared himself emperor. General Piotr had recorded a short public vidcast confirming support for the ceasefire . They replayed the vidcast several times looking for hidden messages for themselves. After the eighth viewing, they decided that either there weren't any hidden messages or that they were hidden too well. Cordelia thought that it was obviously a deliberate ploy by Piotr to upset her. Bothari changed the subject rapidly.

They spent the next few hours monitoring the comms and watching the ripples of chaos spreading out. When Kareen rejoined them, her necklet still in place, they recorded a second vid . This time Cordelia took the fast penta so she could state on air that the child Emperor Gregor was safe and well. 

The ripples of chaos spread out further. Drou wondered if there was a chance of getting out of the bunker before they had to eat the sea children. 

By the evening of the first day, they all had splitting headaches . They investigated the sick bay . The equipment was intact but all the drugs had been looted -there wasn't as much as an aspirin . 

Kareen found some scissors to trim the burned edges out of Drou's hair . The results were not prepossessing. The disruptor beam had just missed Drou's left ear . Another few centimeters and she wouldn't have known that she looked like a demented convict. Kareen expertly wound her remaining hair around into a back country style braided coronet to conceal the mess. The results were not stylish but Bothari and Cordelia were loud in their praise. 

“Oh that's good. She could pass for a hill woman at a distance . Could you do that for milady too?” asked Bothari. “She's a mite conspicuous .” 

Kareen looked at Cordelia critically . “I can change the hair style and we can find some dirt to tone down the colour . Cordelia can slouch or sit down to disguise her height. But she walks like a spacer -no other woman on Barrayar moves like that. And you can't let her make eye contact with anyone. Downtrodden hill women don't look at you like that.”

“What about putting stones in her shoes for a couple of hours?” suggested Drou , remembering Negri's lessons. “It won't cripple her, but it will break her gait . And a heavy pack on her back will keep her stooping over.”

Cordelia gave a firm nod of approval. “And don't do that either.” said Kareen. “It screams officer class.”

Bothari saluted Kareen gravely. “Who would know better than your father's daughter?” He held Kareen's gaze for a long moment before speaking again. His voice was quiet, almost gentle, and sad. “And how do we disguise the most photographed woman on Barrayar?”

“We don't .” said Kareen bluntly . “Even if we got the necklet off , I'm staying here. Cordelia has to get Baby Miles and the replicator out as soon as she has a chance to get through the lines. If I go with the rest of you, I'll endanger you and myself. If I stay here, we're both safer and I have work to do here.”

Bothari's face emained expressionless but Kareen thought she could detect relief in his gaze and more than a hint of warmth. He hadn't been sure about her then, whether she'd be Vor enough . But it wasn't being Vor, Kareen thought impatiently, it was just being practical. Maybe she wasn't an Admiral like Da or a General like Grandda, but she wasn't a complete idiot like Vordarian. 

And suddenly, she realised why Vordarian couldn't remember the code for her necklet. He must have not set it in the first place -the factory settings must still be in place. Maybe it was something she could guess ?

But now wasn't the time to think about that . Better if the others thought that she was trapped for now. Otherwise, Vor idiocy could be awfully catching. She remembered her own piece of Vor idiocy only that morning that had nearly left Drou dead or brain-burned. I will survive, I will learn and I will do better, she thought fiercely . I saved Alys . I saved Grandda. I will keep Drou and Gregor safe too. I will succeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abject apologies for being slow, late and not even getting Gregor into the fic yet. Maybe later in the series ?

**Author's Note:**

> In canon, Kareen dies in the crossfire when she goes for Vordarian's disruptor. Vordarian's armsmen and the Impsec guards are armed with nerve disruptors rather than stunners. 
> 
> Bearing in mind that Vordarian has suffered a number of defections and even he must be aware that not all of his official minions are on his side, I thought that Vordarian might well feel that stunners were a more appropriate choice of armament for the personal guards standing at his back. Obviously, he has no reason to give up his own personal nerve disruptor. 
> 
> Giving the armsman and guards stunners instead of disruptors gave me a fairly natural way to give Kareen a chance of surviving the crossfire without rewriting a large chunk of “Barrayar” . 
> 
> I found that I couldn't write about Kareen raising Gregor to adulthood without first coming up with a plausible way for her to survive to do so, so apologies for a rather off target prompt-fill.


End file.
